No, we process all members by hand. 95% of memberships are processed the same day (usually within 8 hours), but we ask that you give us at least 48 hours. Your login and password as sent out when your membership is processed. You can download forms and other items as soon as you receive your login information via email.

Check your spam/junk/bulk folder and email us if you do not receive your information within 40 hours. Something is probably wrong with email or your payment if we haven't processed you within 48 hours.

Please note, if you have paid by check - via paper check or PayPal check or Money Order - we will not process your membership until the check clears completely. It takes us up to 3 weeks to go to the bank, and it can take 2 more weeks for a check to clear. So we recommend you choose to pay via PayPal with a credit card or PayPal account so that you can get your membership instantly instead of waiting.

No. We process memberships between our pet sits - so we will sign you up as soon as we can. Often this will be less than 8 hours after joining, but we can't promise that because we don't always get a chance to come home as often between pet sits on busy days.

No, you do not have to have your business started in any way before you join. Members completely manage their own listings, so you can activate, edit and change information (including your business name), customize, and/or deactivate your listing information at any time.

There are certainly lots of very successful sitters who started with little or no money. However, I recommend against it. It's very hard to advertise with no money. And in most areas, if you don't advertise you will find yourself not getting the clients you need to keep the business going.

I recommend you keep a 2nd job, a second source of income, or save up enough to support yourself for 8 months to a year plus more to invest in advertising and other business expenses before you start your pet sitting business.

This group is completely managed by pet sitters, and we are happy to help you all we can. However, we are in and out all day pet sitting and we find it very inconvenient to talk on the phone. But we love to talk via email and message boards.

So if you have questions or comments, we ask that you email them to us so we can answer at our convenience. We also like to share our answers with everyone, so using email allows us to copy topics to the message board so everyone can learn and give their own feedback.

Or, even better, ask your questions right to the message board when you join. That way all members can share their opinions and ideas with you and others.

If you are having email problems, we do have a phone number you can call. It is listed on the Contact Us page. This is a very low budget group, so we do not have any hired staff.

PUPS is not affiliated with any insurance providers. We do not offer any insurance. However, feel free to take a look at the pet sitter insurance provider comparison chart we have put together to find a list of independent companies that do insure pet sitters. You can find a link to that page under the "Information" button on the main menu, under Pet Sitters.

Please do not confuse us with insurance provider Pet Sitters Associates LLC - we are not related in any way to PSA. Membership to PUPS does NOT include any insurance.

In order to protect the copyright of the PUPS forms and other items, we do not offer any refunds once payment has been received or the membership has been purchased via Ebay.

We have committed to keeping the membership fee low so that even people who are just investigating Pet Sitting as a career can join PUPS without making a large investment of any kind.

When you join, you are paying for a lifetime membership. However, if you would like us to remove your membership status & terminate your membership permanently, we would be happy to do so. Just email us your request.

If you would like to stop actively participating, but would like to leave the option open to become active again in the future, simply deactivate your listing yourself at any time after you join. Be sure to keep your printed login information on file if you choose this option.

No. When you join, you are joining an international pet sitting support group. We do not offer any type of franchising or business sales, and we will not try to sell you anything else after you join.

The only other items we offer are listed in the menu bar above (custom logos, and some group promotional items like t-shirts).

Most pet sitters start their own business from scratch. Our goal is to help with that process by providing some of the information and forms we wish we had when we started! And we with to provide them in an easy to use format, all in one place, so that you can spend all that time you saved advertising your new business.

I know - it sounds "too good to be true" to get lifetime membership AND forms AND a directory listing AND more for the price listed. But that is what we've has decided to include in membership.

Our goal is to provide help & forms to new sitters so that they will start up in a very professional nature. The more professional sitters there are, the more well known Professional Pet Sitting industry becomes. The better well known the industry is, and the more professional we all are, the more clients we all get. So offering these items at these prices indirectly helps our business - Happy At Home Pet Sitters - to prosper.

Plus, doing this helps us to share the information we have all in one place, and not to answer the same questions over and over in different places for new sitters :) . We really enjoy being a part of this great bunch of pet sitters!

We are not related to other associations. However, we do offer some similar features. Some of the differences between us and other pet sitting associations may include:

We offer a lifetime membership - not one that is renewable yearly.

We do not associate with any particular pet sitter insurance. There are a number of great pet sitter insurances out there, so we provide information on all of them and do not specifically recommend any particular agency. You can find the free pet sitter insurance comparison chart under the Home menu button on the menu.

We offer an active message board, that members do frequent. We do not offer a newsletter or newsgroup, as our message board does offer the ability to send all posts to email boxes.

We keep a Links section on our message board. Anytime we find a link that can help pet sitters in any way, we post it for everyone. Members also add links they find, and comment on services they have received from various sources. So the information is always current and very helpful.

Our forms & information, directory listing, and message board is all included in membership. Our forms kit is a complete kit, with forms that work and fit together with the same headings and 2 basic formats (we offer 2 complete styles). Our kit also includes many informational items you won't find in other pet sitter libraries, on such topics as starting a website.

We do not offer any national pet sitter conferences. Other pet sitting groups hold excellent conferences, so there is no need for us to hold one also. Also, we do not have a large budget for that type of endeavor. We do sponsor conferences held by other groups periodically.

We believe in groups that help pet sitters. We do not see them as 'competition' to our association. So we are happy to list links to other groups you may want to join on our links pages.

As of 7/23/07 we probably still have fewer members than the largest pet sitting organizations. A few of the largest pet sitting organizations have been around for many more years than PUPS.

You may find PUPS to be a bit less 'formal' than other groups. Dan & Kelley participate on the message board and answer questions daily. We enjoy talking with members in an everyday manner. We don't have 'staff' that you go through with questions. We are computer savvy (ok, nerds really), so we usually fix problems with forms, the website, the message board, and other areas ourselves as soon as they pop up. We enjoy hearing opinions & ideas, and we encourage members to donate items they've made up to our library if they wish to do so.

We like to have fun. Members post pictures and stories on the message board. Everyone can pick their own avatars & signatures - so we really get to know everyone by their 'style'. Everyone is very supportive, even when we don't all have the same opinions or policies or beliefs. We participate in polls, plan mini get-togethers, and we are looking at doing fun things like online chats and conference calls in the future.

PUPS Membership is not transferable. If you have purchased a business or franchise owned or operated by a member of PUPS, you will need to purchase your own membership in order to continue as a PUPS member business, and/or use PUPS inspired forms and other materials.

ABOUT

Professional United Pet Sitters is a community of over 11,000 experienced professional pet sitting businesses, new pet sitting businesses, & members interested in starting their own pet sitting service.

We take pride in fostering an online environment of collaboration, professionalism & support through a forum with a wealth of pet sitting topics and discussions as well as a vast library of pet sitting & dog walking resources that include business start up guides, pet sitting contracts & forms, analysis tools, guides & more.